Obama vs. Romney: Abortion

An article that states how Obama and Romney feel about abortion and my reflection

The topic that I have chosen to discuss is abortion.  This article states Romney's and Obama's position on the issue of abortion.  This is one of the controversial issues that are occurring in the United States today. Governor Mitt Romney is pro-life and President Barrack Obama is pro-choice.  President Obama believes that women should have the right to choose what happens with their bodies including the choice whether to be pregnant or not.  Now, Romney used to believe that women could decide whether or not they wanted an abortion.  He has since changed his view; he opposes abortions, “unless it involves cases of rape, incest or if the mother’s life is in mortal danger”.  They both support adoption and believe that children should grow up in safe and stable environments.

I seem to be caught in the middle about this subject.  As a woman, I agree with Obama, women should have a choice.  However, I believe the father of the child should also have an input.  I am against abortion and believe that if individuals want to engage in sex then that is fine, but they should prepare for the consequences.  There is only one way to insure that a woman does not get pregnant, abstinence.  Like Romney, I agree if a woman is raped and becomes pregnant she has the right to get an abortion.  But at the same time, I still do not believe that women should get an abortion.  These children can be put up for adoption.  I seem to be leaning more towards pro-choice.  There is a famous quote written by Mother Teresa that states why she believes there has not been a cure for cancer.  She stated, “I once asked God that question, and He told me that He had sent a doctor into the world to discover the cure to cancer.  However, the doctor was aborted as a baby”.  I have heard of this quote before, but discovered it on Catholic Answers Forums.  It seems to be a reasonable explanation from a Catholics perspective.     

Another controversial issue that they differ on is gay marriage.  I found an article online that states "4 ways they differ on gay issues".  Take a look it is very interesting.

Questions:
Where do you stand on these issues?  Are you pro-life or pro-choice?

"In the Service of What?" By Kahne and Westheimer

Quotes

1) “Educators and legislators alike maintain that service learning can improve the community and invigorate the classroom, providing rich educational experiences for students at all levels of schooling.  Service learning makes students active participants in service learning projects that aim to respond to the needs of the community while furthering the academic goals of the students” (2).

Service learning does not just help the volunteer; it is also important to the person or group of people you are helping.  The service learning project that we are completing in class helps us learn how to become teachers and get a look at what we will be working with someday.  I work in an ESL classroom where most of the students speak Spanish.  You leave an impact while working with your students.  I enjoy returning to my classroom every week just to see the children and have them say “Hello Miss Pires!”.  Service learning is beneficial for everyone who is involved.

2) “Boyer endeavored to create ‘a new Carnegie unit,’ the requirement that all students take part in volunteer activities in either their school or community as a condition for graduation from high school” (5).

I agree with Boyer, I believe every high school should have a service learning requirement.  High schools should have a minimum of twenty hours for their service learning/community service requirement.  Kids today are egocentric, they only care about themselves.  A service learning requirement would help students become aware of the contributions they could come up with just to help people in need.  One could volunteer at a hospital, a nursing home, a soup kitchen, or an animal rescue center.  No matter the place, the feeling is always the same.  Emotions will become involved and you will become attached.  You can create happy memories just knowing that you can help someone in need. 

3) “A music director at a middle school we studied wanted her suburban, upper-middle class students to perform at a nearby elementary school in a poor neighborhood.  Some of the middle school parents objected, saying they were concerned for their child’s safety.  In a written evaluation, the students said that they had imagined ‘horrifying children running around on a dirty campus’”(7-8).

I find this to be very typical amongst the upper class.  They believe that because the school is in a poor and bad neighborhood that those students are delinquents and that they behave like animals.  Sadly, I was one of them before I began my placement.  I told my family what school I had been assigned to for my service learning and they told me it was not a great neighborhood and they were not too thrilled with my placement.  The students and I both learned that what we originally thought was just the complete opposite.  These are normal schools with regular children who are just trying to learn.  Our perspectives on schools in rough neighborhoods has changed.  Just like the old saying goes, “Never judge a book by its cover”.  How can dislike something or have a very strong opinion about it if you never experienced it yourself?

Delpit has stated that change is change and that it helps no matter what the cause.  Kahne and Westheimer believe that change is not enough.  Instead, we need to construct a plan of action and begin social reconstruction in order to actually solve problems in this world.

Here is a link that explains what service learning is and why it is important. Hope you enjoy!

Question:
Should service learning be a requirement in all high schools?

Cinderella Ate My Daughter: By Peggy Orenstein

Extended Comments

I chose Kaela’s blog to be the center of my blog post.  I agree with all of her thoughts and opinions about this article.  Kaela stated “The author of Cinderella Ate My Daughter argues that gender specific toys like Barbie’s, American Dolls, Princesses, and domestic type toy teach young girls and boys the wrong views of the world”.   This is true; there are not many toys out in the retail industry that are not sexist or biased.  As Kaela stated and I agree with her, “These are fairytales we have and we can’t change it”.  Our society has accepted that “pink” is a girl’s color, girls can only dress like princesses, and boys are the only ones who should play with tools or cars.  If boys are not playing with masculine toys or items then they are torn of their masculinity and seen as feminine.  Another important statement Kaela makes is, “We shouldn’t take the imagination and fantasies away from children.  Watching and playing with these toys are okay as long as other options are available to your children”. 

I was obsessed with Disney movies as a child and I knew every song and most of the lines.  Sadly, that still holds true to this day.  As a child I hated Barbie dolls, I wanted no part of it.  I also disliked the color pink, blue has always been my favorite color and my old bedroom was painted that color.  Children see nothing of it because they do not see it in an adult’s point of view.  My cousin, who happens to be a guy, wanted a Barbie doll when he was a child and his parents said no, but they eventually they caved in.  I believe parents do not want to give their child certain toys because it will affect their sexuality.  If a child wants to dress up as a princess for Halloween or a teenage mutant ninja turtle, then let them regardless if they are a boy or girl.  I personally do not see a problem with it.  Honestly, what harm is going to come from it?  Kids have wild and vivid imaginations and they have different tastes.  We need to let children explore the world, including themselves to see what they truly adore and love.

I believe this article relates to Linda Christensen's article "Unlearning the Myths That Bind Us".  The media, toys, and society have a huge impact on children's lives.  "Our society's culture industry colonizes their minds and teaches them how to act, live, and dream" (126).  Boys should play with cars and girls should have pink items and wear makeup.  It teaches them how they should act in society. 

Here is a link that states: Are pink toys turning girls into passive princesses? 

I am not sure if anyone is familiar with the show “Toddlers and Tiaras”, but I found an interesting article online about The Five Biggest Controversies to Hit“Toddlers and Tiaras”.  I agree with what the article states as well.  
 

Comments/Questions:

How do you feel about the use of sexism through the toy industry?  Would you buy a child a toy that is not "ideal" for them based on their sexuality?  Were you allowed to watch Disney movies as a kid, why or why not?

"Unlearning the Myths That Bind Us" By Linda Christensen

Quotes

“My waist didn’t dip into an hourglass; in fact, according to the novels I read my think ankles doomed me to be cast as the peasant woman reaping hay while the heroine swept by with her handsome man in hot pursuit” (126).

In almost all cartoons and Disney movies, this quote is true.  Girls have to be skinny and have a tiny waist in order to be viewed as “beautiful”.  All of the Disney princesses have perfect bodies including their facial features.  It seems to me that Disney is saying the only way a girl can be considered beautiful is if she looks like a Barbie doll.  Disney is sending horrible examples to our children.  This is why so many young girls are going on crazy diets in order to be deemed as beautiful by our society.  They are teaching children that beauty is based on physical appearances and facial features.  Instead, the message to children should be that beauty is skin deep and that everyone is beautiful in their own way.

“Happiness means getting a man, and transformation from wretched conditions can be achieved through consumption” (133).

I usually hear girls say that they are looking for their prince charming and sadly I am one of them.  In order to achieve happiness and get a man, girls must wear new clothes and have a nice hairstyle.  Without beauty, it seems as if a girl will never get a guy to fall for her.  A woman does not need to buy expensive clothing in order for a man to like her.  But let’s face the facts, a woman does not need a man to make her happy.  Every princess gets married at the end of every Disney movie.  By saying “I do”, it makes young girls realize that marrying a man will help them achieve their “happily ever after”.  The only way for anyone to achieve their dreams is to work hard and persevere. 

“Our society’s culture industry colonizes their minds and teaches them how to act” (126).

            Young children are being affected by society, the media, and television.  Children are taught to dream a fairytale lifestyle and how someday they will come true along with our Prince Charming that will swoop us away to a “happily ever after”.  Our society is sexist and racist because of the cartoons and movies we watch.  Since childhood we were taught how to judge other people.  I watch cartoons and I see mindless nonsense that seems innocent enough to me, but when you take a closer look there examples of sexism and racism.

            Comments/Questions:

I love Disney movies not because of the fairytale endings or the “happily ever after”, I enjoy them because it makes me feel like a kid again.  It sickens me to realize that Disney is one of the major contributors to racism and subliminal messages.  They also make us stereotype other minority groups, like the Indians in Peter Pan.  I was oblivious to these as a kid, but when I watched cartoons I did realize a few things.  I never saw many females in older cartoons.  But the one thing that I always questioned was, why won’t the people who created Tom and Jerry let me see the African American woman’s face?  I never understood it until now.  As children, we are all taught the rules and codes of power as Delpit has described in "The Silenced Dialogue" and we do not realize that we know them until it is too late.                                                   

Here is another quote that I really enjoyed, “My dreams keep me from dealing with an unpleasant reality” (129). I feel as if everybody dreams so we can attempt to achieve those dreams.  I know many of the things I dream seem nearly impossible to accomplish.  Dreams help us to achieve success in life and inspire everyone with passion.  We are in fact in an unpleasant reality and no one likes to admit that, so the best way to cope is to dream.  It certainly helps if I do say so myself.  Do your dreams keep you from dealing with an unpleasant reality? If so, how or why? 

Here is a link I found that states why Disney princesses are bad role models:

http://www.fanpop.com/spots/disney-princess/articles/45394/title/disney-princesses-role-models-young-girls

Here are two YouTube videos.  The first is Disney racism and the second is Jenna Marbles and her opinion/rant on Disney princesses.

  

"Aria" #2

Again, I already revised my first Aria post and added a link to it. Here is the link I posted, check it out!

http://www.sharingsuccess.org/code/bv/bebv.html

Peggy McIntosh's "White Privilege" #2

I already revised the first Peggy McIntosh post on "White Privilege" and added this link to it. But this is just a reminder :)                                                                   

http://scarletmoth.xanga.com/753846154/white-privilege-stop-denying-you-have-it/